How to Keep Employees Happy, Boost Morale and Reduce Stress During an Economic Downturn

One of the primary concerns that businesses have these days is simple: it’s all about determining how to keep employees happy. No matter how stable your company is despite the economy, your staff will have concerns and uncertainty and financial stresses. Unfortunately that stress is something that can be carried into the workplace and affect everyone.

Part of understanding how to keep employees happy during an economic downturn, therefore, involves making a concerted effort to keep your staff motivated. Knowing how to keep employees happy during a tough economy is to focus on the tools that you can use to ensure that they recognize that their jobs are secure. In order to make sure that you are able to keep the members of your staff focused, excited about work and feeling secure that the company is doing well, there are a number of options to take into consideration.

In an economic downturn, obviously, you aren’t going to want to throw elaborate parties to show appreciation to your staff. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot show them that you value their commitment and are committed to their successes as well.

One option that you will want to consider involves ongoing training. When you have staff members who are able to work in a wider variety of capacities, you are able to build a more tightly knit team – a team of employees who can work together to solve problems and get the job done, who can pitch in when other staff members need a hand.

Similarly, you will find that there are benefits to looking outside of the immediate on the job training that can be done to keep your staff invested. By looking into continuing education training and functions as part of how to keep employees happy – such as a group volunteer project in the community – that enhance the personal development of your staff, you will find that you are able to bring your staff members together.Ultimately, the most important thing that you can do when you want to ensure that your staffs are happy is to focus on them – not just on the bottom line. By showing that you are as committed to their development and happiness as you are to the business, you can be sure that your employees feel connected. The more that your staff see that you have made the commitment to ongoing training and to their continued success, the more that they will continue to give you their best work.

During an economic downturn, there is going to be stress – and that stress is going to come into the workplace. The more that you are focused on how to keep your staff happy and the more that you are able to focus on helping them to gain additional skills and to contribute on a broader level, the better the position that you will be in – and the better that they will feel about facing the day when their alarm goes off in the morning.
Copyright 2009, Cecile Peterkin. All rights reserved.